Happy Hanukkah friends! This is a holiday we did not make much of, growing up. Passover was a bigger deal; this was more a special dinner, a single present, and the lighting of the menorah. So I want to know all about what the holiday was like for those of you whose families made a bigger deal of it, or see pictures of the menorahs you lit as children—particularly if they have family stories attached to them—or the one you light now, and of course I want all of your Hanukkah recipes! (My mother recently posted her latke recipe to a Jewish food group on Facebook, and it was a picture with two boxes of Manischewitz latke mix. She took a little heat for it, but more people jumped in to defend her. The tradition in my family is not for the woman of the household to devote her time to the kitchen, but to get out into the community and work hard to make a difference, and I like my mama’s boxed latkes just fine, even if I go the frozen-hashbrown-as-a-base hack for my own.)
Tell me your stories, show me your photos. For this post, I’ve opened up replies to everyone, not just subscribers. I’m hoping one of the Hanukkah miracles will be that we share together the joy of the season, and nobody shows up to dampen our joy.
And now, because I am at heart more prone to laughter than deep thought, I give you the original Adam Sander performance of the Hanukkah Song:
May you drink your gin-and-tonikkah, and have a happy, happy, happy, happy Hanukkah.
Sarah
We have a blended family. I am of Irish heritage, and my husband is Jewish. I love Chanukah and I have become a skilled latke maker. Irish people may know their way around a potato...but latkes!! Grated onion and potato fried in schmaltz, something that needs to be cooked in front of you and eaten right away in the kitchen while still hot and crisp-- there is just a certain extra love in them.
Lol, I like the frozen hashbrowns, I've never heard of that. But that sounds like a common thing to do in Appalachia :P
My mom made latkes from scratch. The house smelled for days. I had chocolate coins and a menorah. We lit the candles and played dreidel. My birthday is in December, and so one year, I requested that we have Hanukkah again for my birthday. I insisted.